Sleep Slaying
by sketz
Summary: Buffy slays a demon and starts sleep walking, the twist is: so does spike...


Sleep Slaying

disclaimer- I don't own any of these characters no matter how much I want to...sigh. Oh, three of these little guys means it's still the same character, just a different time. Three of these means different character around the same time. Sorry for the cheesy poem and the fact that I didn't put any chapters-sketz

Buffy ran through the graveyard using all of her inhuman speed to help. The demon was almost in her reach now. She pulled out her sword and lurched forward and got the demon right through the heart. They both toppled onto the moist grass and she pulled her sword out of its back and cut off its head in one swift, agile move. Blood as clear as ice spurted out onto the grass and a few flecks splattered her face. She wiped the blood away as she stood up. The demon started to twitch violently, almost convulsing, and then exploded with a flash of clear blood and bits of rough skin. Buffy tried to duck behind a headstone to avoid getting covered in the goop and ruining her third outfit that week. She was too late. A big glob of demon blood splashed onto her face, covering her mouth and nose, and it started to harden. She started to claw at her face. She couldn't breathe. The goop was all over her face, hardening, some of it dripped down the back of her throat causing her to gag, but she suppressed the urge so she wouldn't die by choking on her own vomit.

_Spike, you bastard, help me,_ she cried out in her head. He was somewhere around here and she started to pray that he could somehow hear her mental pleas.

As if he were the cavalry, Spike came sprinting down a row of graves. His duster flapping behind him not because of the breeze, but because of how fast he was running. He kept running and slid on his knees to a stop next to a frantic Buffy. He grabbed the sword from the ground and straddled Buffy. He held her down with one hand and cracked the side of the sword against the hardened demon blood mask other. It started to crack and he tossed the sword aside then dug his fingers into the small crevices and pulled. The mask broke away and Buffy started to gasp for air.

Spike rolled off of her and sat behind her head. He rested her head in his lap and tried to sit her up so she could breathe easier. She stopped gasping and started breathing normally. He sat up slowly and lifted her up. He rested on his knees as he put her on her hands and knees and then whacked her really hard on the back. Her eyes snapped open and she started to vomit. He rubbed her back gently and held her hair back. When she was done, she sat down with her back up against the a headstone and stretched out her legs. Spike did the same right across from her.

"What the hell are you doing," she asked in a raspy voice.

He snorted and lit up a cigarette. "Apparently I just saved you from suffocatin' to death and chokin' on your own bloody vomit."

Buffy glared at him and rubbed her throat. She tucked her hair back behind her ears and leaned her head back to look at the stars. Spike smoked his cigarette and let twin plumes of smoke rise up into the night sky. She coughed when the wind blew them into her face and he twisted out his cigarette into the dirt. She returned her look to him. He had been staring at her since he saved her, as much as she hated to admit it. She tried to stand up and her legs went weak and she slid back down the headstone.

"You okay, luv? Heard a pop when I was watchin' the telly and knew it was you. Figured you beheaded a Xar'lok demon and got covered in that goop they call blood and got yourself into a bit of a tight squeeze," Spike explained as he started to move closer to Buffy.

"You know as well as I do Spike that you were stalking me. Ever since I stopped coming to you for...'help', you've been stalking me. The Big Bad has lost his touch," she scoffed as she slightly kicked him away.

Behind his eyes he let the hate and love that he felt for her burn. He hoped she would see it and back off. He knew she wouldn't...to stubborn. He moved back to his original spot across from her and got ready to say something when she interrupted.

"I'm better now Spike. I've gotten real help and I'm not as depressed about being pulled from Heaven. Sure it still bugs me...but I'm never going to go back to you again for the sex so I can 'feel' again. I'm somewhat healthy now and I'm not going to let you bring me down and take advantage over me."

She looked straight into his eyes and saw the array of emotions that boiled behind those crystalline blue eyes. Then, for the first time she had ever seen, an unseen emotion took over the rest of emotions. It was that of defeat. It was the feeling you got when you knew you were going to lose or die. Buffy recognized that look way too much. Spike let his shoulders go lax and he lost all of his cockiness. He stood up and walked over to her. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet. She stood up and stayed standing instead of falling back down.

"I'll stop if you want," he said in a melancholy voice.

"Stop what Spike? Stop stalking me? Please do. I may have been lucky tonight with you following me in the shadows, but it's creepy."

"Vampire, luv. I am creepy."

He hung his head and started to walk towards his crypt. Buffy followed, feeling concern for the vampire, a feeling she never thought she could ever feel towards him before. He tensed up, he knew she was following him and he tried to ignore her. She pursued. When he reached his crypt door he turned around and looked straight at her.

"Look, do you even know what it's like to feel so much damned emotion for one bloody person? It's like your bleedin' heart is goin' to explode if you think one more thing about them. All of the love, the hate, the want, the not...wanting. Anyway, I'm a vampire. I'm not supposed to feel this for you...but I do. When Dru came back, right before she left, she said that I liked the Slayer before I knew I did. Which, didn't make any bloody sense then, but it does now. Would you just leave me alone when I've admitted I screwed up and I'm going to stop, luv?"

Buffy looked at Spike. She had every emotion besides love and compassion and concern radiating from her. He seemed confused. She knew he was trying to make her feel bad to try and get her to come back to him. It had been at least three months since she stopped going to him everytime she felt down.

"Don't call me 'luv'," she told him as she turned around and walked off towards home.

When Buffy got home she didn't know what to think about the events that had just happened. He had saved her from dying a disgusting and horrible death and she took it as another try to get back in her pants. Willow and Dawn were sitting on the sofa watching television, some movie with a Saturday Night Live cast member. When Buffy entered from the porch they both turned their heads and gave warm greetings. She smiled. They knew she was better now...and couldn't be happier. They knew that she had just patrolled tonight and nothing else...well, Willow did anyway. Dawn was probably just happy Buffy was home.

As Buffy said her warm greeting and started to head up the stairs, Willow followed.

"Are you okay? You look like you're covered in drool or something," Willow asked as she looked quizzically at Buffy.

"The Xar'lok demon exploded after I cut its head off. Very gross. This is the third outfit I've ruined this week. Can you believe it? We're going to have to go shopping so my closet doesn't get too empty."

Willow smiled at this. So did Buffy. Dawn started laughing and it made both of them snicker. Buffy went into her room and grabbed her pajamas from the edge of her bed and headed for the shower. Willow kept following her.

"What do you want, Will," Buffy asked as she turned to face her longtime friend.

"Was he there? I mean...we heard a pop and we didn't know if it was early firecrackers or something you had done. Dawn wanted to make sure you were okay and I wanted to make sure it wasn't something he had done."

Buffy rubbed the back of her neck and told Willow. She told her how he saved her and how she told him off for stalking her and everything that had happened. Willow stood and listened to every word that came out of Buffy's mouth...a true friend. When she was done explaining, Buffy entered the shower and told Willow good night and for Willow to tell Dawn that for her.

As Buffy shut the door she listened as hard as she could to see if her friend would mutter anything. She did.

"He saved your life Buffy..."and whatever else Willow said was lost to the living room.

Buffy was in awe that her friend would say that. She knew what Spike did to her, there was not another day to get angry at him. She had avoided it as long as she could and it couldn't wait any longer. Buffy shook her head and started running some warm water to wash away the demon blood.

Spike sat watching television. She had told him and she was angry. He explained to her and she thought it was an attempt to bring her back to him, though truthfully...it sort of was. He wanted her to know how he felt for so long...and now that she did, he felt empty. He felt like what he was: a cold, dead, soulless, vampire. He hated himself for telling her, hated himself for letting her walk off. But that was in the past now. He saved her and she still didn't get it. It was too late now, she wasn't ever going to come back to again as long as he was what he was.

The movie went to commercial and Spike went to his mini-fridge and pulled out a blood packet. He ripped the top off and poured some of the red life down his throat as he let all of this run through his mind. He had told her too much, told her more than what she needed to know and he wanted to tear out his tongue and nail it to the floor and set it on fire, no...not his tongue, hers. He shook his head when he realized he was squeezing the blood packet too tight and some blood had run over the top and was dripping down his hand onto the floor. He growled in frustration and sat back down in front of the television and started licking the blood off of his hand.

_You've let her get to you. Just stop obsessing over her and everything might go back to the way it was with Dru, _he told himself and he knew it was false reassurance. Nothing would ever go back to the way it was, even if he turned back time, everything was messed up now. He thought about the recent events in the graveyard and remembered Buffy's sword. He might as well go find it and give it back to her while he wasn't doing anything...important.

He left the comfort of his crypt and headed back to where he saved the ungreatful bitch. He found the sword and picked it up. He looked around to see if anyone was around...no one was lurking about the night. He started acting like he was swordfighting an invisible enemy and laughed heartily as he pinned his invisible assailant to the ground and finished him off. He stood back up and opened his arms to receive applaud from the audience that wasn't there. He smiled to himself and looked at the clear blood that stuck hardened to most of the headstones. Out of curiosity, he cracked off a piece of the hardened blood and put it in his mouth. He immediately spit it out and lit a cigarette to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Probably what Xander bloody tastes like," he snorted as he breathed in deeply of his cigarette. He held the sword in his hands and headed for Buffy's house. Maybe he could just knock on the door and leave it on the porch and run off to his crypt before they could start playing 20 questions with him.

Spike got in front of Buffy's house and rang the doorbell. He started to set the sword down but Willow opened the door faster than he would've liked.

"Spike, what are you doing here," she asked as he stood awkwardly at the front door like a love struck school boy asking his girlfriend on a date.

"Ummm...Buffy left this in the graveyard, thought I should give it back with no fuss. Well...here you go," he said as he placed the sword in Willow's hands and walked off.

He didn't hear her following him, so he started running back to his crypt. Maybe he could make it in time for the ending of the movie, maybe not. Ever since the day had started things had been going bad for Spike from waking up and nearly setting himself on fire to saving Buffy in the graveyard. It seemed as though the world had turned its bad side on Spike today. The movie was probably over and some cheesy late-night "made-for-TV" movie had taken its place.

When he got back to his crypt he saw he was correct. He had missed the end of the movie and now there was only an infomercial about cheese graters. He shut the television off and moved to the lower part of his crypt. He didn't want to start another day off nearly on fire by sleeping in the upper part. He stripped himself of his clothes and fell asleep. At first he tossed and turned, but then he went into a deep sleep. Far deeper than any human or non-human thing could go.

Still sleeping, he sat up as if he was awake and started to put his clothes on. He moved through what was left of the shadows and into the graveyard. His eyes were still closed but he seemed to know where he was going...

_In his dream, Spike decided he wasn't going to take it any longer. He got dressed and started walking straight to Buffy's house. The night was fading away, but the sun still had awhile before it would rise. He picked up a few small rocks as he stood underneath the big tree in front of her house. He looked down at his clothes...they weren't the usual black t-shirt, black jeans and duster. He was wearing one of his suits from when he was William. His short, dyed blonde hair was now long and naturally brown...and he didn't care. He tossed a few rocks up at the side of Buffy's window and she opened her window to look down at him. He got down on one knee and started to recite an odd little poem._

_"Hair as gold as sunlight, never to touch my skin. Please come down and be with me...doesn't have to lead to sin. I've told you that I love you, what else do you want me to say? If you don't come down, I'll stay like this until mid-day. And here I shall turn to dust and leave you alone forever. Unless you come down and say ' I wanna be your lover'."_

_Suddenly the scene changed and he was in the regular Spike clothing and he had a microphone in front of him. He stood up and started singing "Haunted" by Evanescence. She started to yell at him and he didn't understand why until something hit him in the head..._

and he woke up.

Buffy was getting ready to go to sleep, again. She had washed all of the blood off of herself and was in her pajamas getting ready for a long, restful, sleep after the days' events. She kept tasting the blood in her mouth everytime she went to sleep and kept waking up. She had just pulled her blanket up over her shoulder and started to get into sleep mode for what seemed like the millionth time, when a few rocks hit the side of her house. Annoyed and wanting to kill whoever was disturbing her, she flung the blankets off of herself and went over and opened the window. Underneath the tree stood Spike. He got down on one knee like he was going to propose to her and started to say something. She listened to the words he was saying.

"Hair as gold as sunlight, never to touch my skin. Please come down and be with me...it doesn't have to lead to sin. I've told you that I love you, what else do you want me to say? If you don't come down, I'll stay like this until mid-day. And here I shall turn to dust and leave you alone forever. Unless you come down and say 'I wanna be your lover'."

Buffy, still annoyed, started to snicker. She noticed his eyes were closed so maybe he didn't want to look at her, or maybe he was asleep. Whatever the cause, she noticed a few neighbors started to come out of their houses when he stood up and started to sing "Haunted" by Evanescence loudly. Not wanting anyone to see this spectacle, she started yelling at him to shut up and go home. Finally she picked up a weird smelling scented candle and threw it at him. It hit him in the head and his eyes snapped open. He looked around like he didn't know where he was. He looked up at her as she told him to get off her front lawn and go home and the few nieghbors went back inside their homes. Spike looked confused.

"Stay where you are, I'm coming down," Buffy said with a sigh.

She went down the stairs and found her sword with a post-it note stuck to it saying "Spike brought it back, Willow". She then grew less annoyed than she had been. There was a thump on the front door and she jumped. She opened it to find Spike standing in front of it with his duster over his head.

"Daylight, lu...Buffy," he stammered.

"You'll be fine on the porch until you can hightail it back to your crypt," she said as she crossed her arms. "Now, would you like to tell me _why_ you decided to try and play prince charming and recite a bad poem and sing a song to me while I was sleeping?" She knew this was a lie because she hadn't been sleeping, but making Spike feel bad might keep her from lobbing his head off right then and there.

"I dunno Slayer. I returned your sword, went back to the crypt, went to sleep, and could you please invite me inside before I set myself on bloody fire," Spike told her as he stepped more to the left to avoid the sunlight.

"That's it? You just went to sleep and somehow ended up in my front lawn? You're pathetic."

She started to shut the door when he stuck his foot in the space that was left before it was fully shut.

"Stop it Spike."

"I mean this Slayer. Until you hit me in the head with that candle, I thought I was still asleep in bed."

Buffy thought about this. It seemed like he was telling the truth. There was a noise on the stairs and Buffy turned around to see Willow making her way down them.

"Sorry Buffy. I heard someone singing and I heard you yelling and...Spike?"

Buffy turned around to face Spike and he was pressed as far as he could get against the door. Buffy opened it up and invited him inside. He flipped his duster off of his head and some smoke started to come off of him. He went over to the stairs and sat down. He slapped at his sleeve and the smoke went away. Buffy shut the door and there was an awkward silence.

"So you're saying you thought you were still at your crypt sleeping when you got hit in the head with Buffy's candel and then you woke up and didn't know where you were," Willow asked Spike as he held an icepack against his forehead. The bruise was about the size of a soft ball and the bump was the size of a ping-pong ball.

"Yes that's what I'm bloody saying. Do you not have any raw meat in this soddin' house, because all this ice is doin' is makin' my bleedin' head cold."

Buffy rolled her eyes and ignored Spike. Willow went through a couple of books about demons that she had laying on the table.

"And it was a Xar'lok demon?"

"Yes," Buffy and Spike said simultaneously. Buffy glared at Spike and he kept his gaze diverted to Willow.

She kept looking and finally stopped flipping pages. She pointed to a paragraph.

"It says the Xar'lok demon's blood has a sleep walking effect to it. If someone happens to ingest its blood, they will sleep walk for an unknown amount of time. They may walk for days, months, in one case...a whole year. But, the only way to find a cure is to get some blood of the exact demon you got it from, basically the demon that you killed, and mix it with some Banthar root and drink it like a hot tea," Willow explained.

Spike stood up and went into the foyer where the sword laid. He picked it up and brought it into the kitchen. He dropped it on the table, earning an evil glare from Buffy. Willow looked up at Spike and he elaborated.

"Buffy's sword is covered in the muck."

Willow and Buffy looked at the sword. Sure enough it was covered in Xar'lok blood. Willow touched the blood and a small piece of it snapped off. She made 'yuck' face and dropped the small piece of blood onto the table. Spike sat back down and took the ice pack off of his forehead. The bruise was now an array of colors: dark purple, light purple, an odd yellow color, dark blue, green, and brown. He looked over to notice Buffy staring at his forehead.

"Where the bloody hell do you get a candle holder that is one inch thick metal? Anti-Pier 1," Spike asked as he took the ice pack back off and pointed to the bruise that surrounded the bump.

Buffy smiled and started to rub one of her eyes. She yawned and Willow went into the other room and dialed a number on the phone.

Spike and Buffy sat in an eerie silence...much like the awkward one...but more awkward. He took the ice pack back off of his forehead and placed it halfway into his pants. Buffy looked at him like he was crazy.

"What the hell are you doing with my ice pack?"

"It's hot in here Slayer...guy needs to cool off a bit."

Buffy grabbed the ice pack as Willow came back into the kitchen. She saw Buffy with her hand on Spike's pants and she started to turn around back into the living room. Buffy stood up taking the ice pack with her and went after Willow.

"He stuck the ice pack in his pants and I didn't want it there and...ewwwww, I'm holding Spike's pant ice," Buffy told Willow as she went back into the kitchen and got ready to empty the pack out into the sink. She looked over at Spike and closed the ice pack back up. She stood next to Spike and in a flash, shoved the ice pack down his pants as far as it would go. He yelped, stood up, and reached into his pants to grab the ice pack. Buffy laughed as he pulled it out and placed his hand on his crotch.

"Too much cold," he murmered as he tossed the ice pack into the sink and sat back down rubbing the area to get it warm.

Willow returned to the kitchen and gave everyone the "uh-oh" look.

"What," Buffy asked as she prepared herself for the worse that could come out of Willow's mouth.

"The Banthar root won't be able to come in for about two days and then it takes an extra day to mix it to the right consistency for it to cure you. So the root will get here about Monday and then by Tuesday the potion will be done because it's the weekend and they'll ship it today, but not tomorrow," Willow explained.

Spike chuckled deeply and put his arms behind his head. Buffy turned to Spike and grabbed a knife out of the knife rack on the counter.

"Want to lose something Spike," Buffy asked as she gave him a stern look and pressed the knife against his leg.

He sat up and pushed her hand away.

"You're going to be in for a hell of a time since I don't _need_ to sleep."

Spike knew that he was pushing the limit...but he felt to scared to care. Yes, he was scared. The dreams that he had sometimes depicted him killing Buffy or doing something worse or, as was shone earlier, doing something stupid. He felt like a fool for putting the blood in his mouth. Whatever compelled him to do that he'd never figure out. He looked up at Buffy who still held the knife close to his leg. She was glaring at him and her knuckles were white from restraining herself from neutering him. He couldn't help but smirk.

Truth be told, sometimes he needed to sleep to get his priorities together, to keep his cool amidst the feelings and to keep himself from obeying his impulses. He folded his arms across his chest and looked out of the kitchen window. The sun hadn't quite come through it yet, but it was starting to. He looked back up at Buffy who was setting the knife on the counter. She glanced at the window quickly.

"Gettin' a bit too bright to run back home. I'll stay wherever you want me to, unless it's the tub. Please Slayer," Spike asked as he pouted.

Willow wasn't in the kitchen, he could hear her upstairs, walking around on the creaky floor boards underneath the carpet. Buffy rolled her eyes (as she always did).

"Basement."

Spike groaned. "Why the bloody basement? I spend all my bloody time in basements. Xander's basement, my own basement...if you want to call it a basement. Anyways, is there no where else to stay in this house?"

After a heated argument, Spike took the basement. Didn't like it, but he took it. He listened as Dawn made her way down the stairs. He heard her talking to Buffy about what to do that afternoon. He couldn't make out the precise words, but Buffy was going to leave Dawn at home with Tara as her and Willow were going to go do something. Spike threw an empty laundry basket at the door. Buffy had locked him in there and inside he didn't want to cost her a new door by breaking the current one down. She flung the door open nearly knocking Spike over.

"What do you want?"

"Blood. Bring back blood while you're gone. If I'm going to be staying the night I'm gonna need some nourishment."

Dawn stood behind Buffy. Spike watched as she peeked over Buffy's shoulder and looked straight at Spike.

"You're leaving me home alone with Spike," Dawn asked.

"You're going to be with Tara, don't worry. Besides, he couldn't do anything to you if he wanted."

Spike frowned at this and continued to look at Buffy.

"Blood."

Buffy sighed and turned around she told Dawn not to open the door while she was gone or when Tara was there. Then she left. He listened as she closed the door and Dawn locked it behind her. There was a short silence and Dawn opened the basement door. Spike, who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, turned around to aknowledge her.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"I'm sitting here being a good litte Big Bad, now sod off."

Dawn entered the basement and Spike stood up to face her. He backed up a little bit as she reached the bottome step. She looked around. She noticed the laundry on top of the table in front of the washer and dryer. She looked at Spike and went over to the laundry.

"So, does Buffy have you locked down here to be her sex slave or did you want to sleep over after you serenaded her this morning?"

She looked through the clothes until she found what was most likely hers. She picked up the stack and dropped it into a laundry basket. He wanted to do something to make her go away and shut up, but he knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She kicked the basket over to the stairs and turned around to face Spike. He gave her a blank stare and she grabbed the basket up and went up the stairs. Obviously the basket was to heavy because she missed one of the steps and started to fall backwards. Spike raced up behind her and caught her as her clothes went everywhere, a pair of underware landing on Dawn's shirt.

"Careful Lil' Bit, Spike said as he let Dawn get her footing.

She blushed and started to throw her clothes into the basket, tossing the underware that clung to her shirt in first. He snorted and pulled a cigarrette out and lit up. She was more careful this time up the stairs and shut the door behind her, not locking it. He heard her stomp up the stairs and slam the door to her room. She turned on her radio as loud as she could and all Spike could hear was Maroon 5's "This Love". The phone started to ring and only Spike heard it. He hesitantly went up the stairs, opened the door to the basement and went into the kitchen where the phone was. He answered it.

"Dawn," Buffy asked from the other end of the line.

"Not her," Spike answered.

"Spike, what are you doing out of the basement? Did Dawn open the door? Get her on the phone. Spike, stop laughing!"

And he was. He was laughing at Buffy's anger. "Came down for laundry. Don't worry, take a message for Lil' Bit?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. He could almost see Buffy in his mind, rolling her eyes, sticking her phone out at the phone and silently immitating what he just said. A sigh interuppted the silence.

"Tara's sick. As much as I don't want to ask you this...will you watch Dawn for me? You don't have to stay in the basement. I'll be back around 12:00 with blood and food for Dawn."

"Alright. That all," Spike asked.

"Yes. Bye." Then she hung up.

He put the phone back in the cradle and went up the stairs. He sniffed out where Dawn's room was and knocked hard on the door. He heard her make a small yelp and turn the radio down. There was a clank as she searched through something. She opened the door and had a stake in her hand.

"What are you doing out of the basement? Where's Tara," she asked.

Spike smiled. "Don't worry. Your sister called, seems Tara's sick and I have to watch you, full house privalges. Said she'll be back around 12:00 with food."

She looked at him suspiciously and he darted his hand into her room and grabbed the stake. She gasped and froze up. He grabbed her and spun her around to where her back was pressed against his chest and he bent his head down close to her neck.

"Let your guard down Lil' Bit. Gotta watch it if you want to be just like big sis."

He let Dawn go and she snatched the stake away from Spike and slammed the door in his face. He snickered and went down into the living room where he closed the blinds and shut the curtains. He turned on the TV and flipped channels until he found something he wanted to watch.

Buffy was walking alone through the grocery store. She had plenty of coupons and money she had earned from her last job working at the food court in the mall. She had split up with Willow on the way over who went to see how Tara was doing. Now Buffy was shopping alone and was tossing a couple of boxes of Pop-Tarts into her basket. She didn't like the fact that Dawn was home alone with Spike, but she needed to get some food for the house, they couldn't live on delivery and take-out food forever.

As she worked her way back to the front she felt an onset of sleepiness tugging at the back of her head. She shook it off and got in line. She started to put her groceries on the belt when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Xander behind her.

"Hey Buffster, what's up? Shoppin'," Xander asked as he gave Buffy a big smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm stocking up for the next two weeks. Ahn's got the basket and is shopping like a mad woman. Scary, but more time to cruise the magazine racks."

Buffy smiled at this she dug around in her purse and pulled out some cupons. She set them down on the check writing platform and the cashier started to scan every one of them. Buffy turned back to Xander and continued the conversation.

"Same here. Been clipping coupons like there's no tomorrow."

Xander looked over Buffy's shoulder at the pile of coupons. The cashier was clearly getting agitated as every coupon he scanned, another appeared out of the seemingly small pile. Xander looked back at Buffy and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back.

Anya came barreling down from one of the aisles and swerved around a woman and her baby to stop abruptly behind Xander. Buffy gave a small wave to Anya who smiled quickly and put a divider between Buffy's stuff and hers and started loading things onto the belt.

"Here's the love of my life now," Xander said as he wrapped an arm around Anya as she put a couple packages of lunchmeat on the belt.

"Not now Xander. We have to hurry and get these groceries home so we can have se..."Anya started to tell Xander when he clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Remember what I told you about keeping things like that private in public?"

Anya nodded and pushed Xander's hand away and continued to load groceries. The cashier tapped Buffy on the shoulder and pointed to the total. 47.62 without the coupons. He hit a button. The price went down to 20.49, Buffy opened her purse and put the money on the counter. Exact change. She hugged Xander and said goodbye. She tried to do the same with Anya, but Anya made a weird grunting noise and nodded. Buffy shrugged and got her basket of groceries. Then she realized she didn't have a car.

"Xander...do you think you'd have room in your car to...because I walked over here and..."

"We don't have a lot of stuff. Sure," Xander answered before Buffy could finish.

Anya groaned and put the last thing in her basket on the belt.

Spike flipped through channels as ER ended. His stomach started to growl and he got the feeling Buffy wasn't going to bring any blood. He started to light up another cigarette when he noticed he didn't have any more and his blood _and_ other packs of cigarettes were at his crypt...outside...in the sun. Dawn came down the stairs and went into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a small box. She opened it up and pulled out a chicken strip. She went into the living room, sat down by Spike, and ate her chicken strips.

She snatched the remote out of Spike's hand and surfed through the channels and stopped on a cartoon.

"What are you doing," Spike asked as he grabbed the remote from Dawn and put it back on Fear Factor.

Dawn snatched the remote back and put it back on the cartoon. "My house. I can watch whatever I want to."

Spike went to grab it back when Dawn ran out of the living room into the foyer and out the front door. He followed her and then stopped when he saw the sun streaming onto the porch. Dawn stood on the sidewalk holding the remote.

"Get inside Lil' Bit, Buffy's going to have my head. Get inside we'll watch whatever you want to bloody watch," Spike called out to Dawn as she took a tentative step towards the house.

"Do you mean it," she asked as she walked up to the steps.

"Just get the bloody hell inside before Buffy gets back."

Dawn walked up the steps and back into the living room. She sat down and flipped it back to cartoons. Spike glanced over at the remote. As Dawn reopened her chicken strips box he snatched the remote, stood up, and flipped it back to Fear Factor. Dawn jumped up dropping her box and jumped for the remote. Spike held it over his head and Dawn kicked him in the knee. He reached for his knee, still holding the remote over his head. Dawn grabbed it and ran back outside. She stood in front of the living room window and flipped the channel to her cartoon. Spike let go of his knee and gave her a "what the hell" look and manually turned the TV to his show. Dawn flipped it back. Spike growled and turned it back to his show when Dawn turned the TV off.

This carried on from flipping channels to turning the TV on and off. Finally Spike vamped out and ran outside into the front yard and grabbed Dawn who started to kick and protest. He went as fast as he could to the shady porch and held her in place.

"Would you just give up the soddin' remote? You can watch your bloody cartoons later," Spike exclaimed. Dawn glared at him.

A few seconds later a car pulled into the driveway and Buffy and Xander got out of the car. Xander popped the trunk and Buffy went up to the porch where Dawn and Spike were.

"What the hell is going on," Buffy asked as Spike looked up from Dawn and de-vamped.

"Erhm..."

"He won't let me watch what I want," Dawn answered.

Spike snapped out of his confused state. "Complete sod! I bloody well said you could watch what you wanted!"

"Bull! You took the remote from me," Dawn snapped at Spike.

Xander had a few bags of groceries in his arms and carried them to the porch. Buffy went up the steps and pushed past Spike. Xander followed Buffy and Dawn was close behind, sticking her tongue out at Spike along the way. Xander set the bags down and Buffy started to take stuff out of them.

"Dawn,help me unload the groceries. Give Spike the remote," Buffy commanded Dawn.

"But..."

"NO! Give him the remote or no TV at all."

Dawn reluctantly gave Spike the remote and helped Buffy start putting the groceries away. Xander came back inside with three more bags as Spike went into the kitchen and started to go through a bag that he could smell had meat in it.

"What are you doing," Buffy asked angrily as she pulled the bag away from him.

"Blood. Where's the blood?"

She sighed and continued on. "I'll have Willow get it when she comes back, and if you're going to be going through stuff turn the TV off or I'll throw you outside."

Spike groaned and turned the TV off. He should've never went to return Buffy's sword. He pulled his hand out of the bag and went back into the living room. Xander snickered at him and Spike made a grab at his throat when Buffy threw a wooden spoon at Spike's head. It hit Spike where the bruise had been and he hissed at the slight pain. Xander caught the bag he nearly dropped and set it and the others he was carrying down. Spike glared at all of them and returned to the basement.

Buffy and Dawn sat on the couch watching a pay-per-view movie with Greg Kinnear in it. Spike had been in the basement nearly all day and Willow had come home with blood and told everyone that Tara said "Hi". Buffy took a couple of packs out of the many Willow had brought. She opened the basement door and flipped the light on. Spike was laying on the table that had clothes on it, he had put them all on top of the washer and dryer. Buffy couldn't tell if he was sleeping or just staring at the ceiling. She cleared her throat and Spike sat up.

"Sorry...wasn't payin' attention," he mumbled as he swung his legs over the side of the table and slid off.

"Willow's back...she brought blood," Buffy told Spike as she held up the two packs of blood.

Spike went over to Buffy and she felt her heart beat faster, the old sexual tension between them firing up within her. He took the two packs of blood from her and gave her a quick smile before turning around and heading back to the table. Buffy let out a soft sigh and turned to go back upstairs. She heard him tear off the top of one of the pack and start drinking the blood. A small shiver made it's way down her spine and she quickly went up the stairs back into the hallway.

"How's he doing," Willow asked as Dawn huffed at the question, earning a confused look from Willow.

"Hungry is all I can say," Buffy answered as she took her spot back on the couch.

Willow nodded slightly and turned her attention back to the movie. Buffy did the same, but the nagging feeling of want for Spike grew inside of her. She was supposed to be "cured", she was supposed to be Spike hating Buffy. She glanced over at the basement door. Another shiver made it's was through her and she wanted to go to him. She wanted him back, wanted him to do the things he used to do to her right at that very moment, wanted him to make her feel like she still belonged on Earth or at least in this dimension.

_Go to him...they can't stop you...sneak out with him...go,_ a voice she hadn't heard in a while said in the back of her head.

She started to stand up and caught herself. She acted like she was getting comfortable and continued to watch the movie. Another shiver ran up her spine, something was trying to pull her to the basement. She swallowed and tried to keep her attention on the movie. Memories of the times she had spent with him ran through her mind, blocking out the movie from her mind completely. The want...the _need_ for him was overwhelming. Her foot started to tap on the floor and when she realized it she stood up and headed up the stairs.

"Where are you going Buffy," Dawn asked, eyes full of defeat.

"I'm tired Dawnie...I need to get some sleep," Buffy mumbled in a reply.

"Are you sure that's a good idea with the whole sleep walking issue," Willow queried as she got ready to stand up and follow Buffy.

"I'm fine. I'll set my alarm for every few minutes to make sure nothing happens."

Willow gave her a worried look and then sat back down. Buffy continued up the stairs and flopped down on her bed, then started to cry. The emotions were too strong. She wanted him so bad...but she knew it was wrong. She lifted her head up and grabbed a tissue from the box on her bedside table. She wiped her eyes and sat up. She stared into the mirror, she didn't look like the care-free Buffy she had been before she learned she was the Slayer.

_Wait until they're asleep, then go to him, leave the house, go to his crypt,_ the voice whispered.

Buffy needed to do something. She wanted to kill something to relieve all the stress and tension. She heard Dawn and Willow giggle and shook away the memories and thoughts of Spike, but they flooded back. She sighed deeply and changed into more comfortable clothes. She set her digital alarm clock for ten minutes later. It was going to be a long night. She climbed back into her bed and drifted off to sleep.

She never noticed she had the time still on AM instead of PM...

Buffy was in a deep sleep. Whatever was happening outside of her dreamland was completely oblivious to her. She tossed and turned a bit in her sleep. She started to laugh and smile. Soon she sat up in bed and started down the stairs towards the basement...

_Buffy was at an giant ball. She was in an elagant dress that was a deep red color and had a gold trim to the bodice and the scoop neck collar. She had no idea what era it was, but it must have been around when Spike was human. Her black shoes had gold buckles on them and her hair was done it big curls that tumbled down on either side of her face. The sleeves stopped at her elbows and then a bit of black lace trimmed that along with the bottom of the dress._

_There were many couples on the giant dance floor, Buffy seemed to be the only one not dancing with anyone else. She frowned. There seemed to be no men left to dance with. All of the other girls had their beautiful white and blue and lilac dresses. She saw Angel, she smiled, then noticed him dancing with a girl with brown hair. She frowned again. She went down the staircase and onto the landing. Everyone turned to look at her. She felt nervous. _

_As she decended the stairs that came after the landing and led to the dance floor, a man stepped out of the farest regions of the crowd. She recognized the blonde hair. He was in a dazzling black tuxedo that had a blood red rose in the pocket on the front of it. The crowd parted and she walked down the stairs, straight towards him. Angel, in a white tuxedo, came up to her. She wanted to dance with Angel...but he wouldn't look right. Spike held out his hand. Angel did the same. She started to laugh, both wanted to dance with her. She turned towards Spike and curtsied, golden curls cascading down over her shoulders. Angel returned to the brown haired woman and Buffy stayed curtsied._

_Everyone continued to dance and Spike took Buffy's hand and they danced. He dipped her and twirled her and she felt the happiest she had ever been. She felt it was wrong not to dance with Angel, like it would lower her social standard...but she didn't care. The music slowed down and he dipped her again. This time, he leaned in close and kissed her softly on the lips, then on her neck. She could feel the warmth that radiated off of him and she loved it. _

_"I love you," she whispered._

_When he parted and she came back up to kiss him, they were the only ones on the dance floor, there was no music, and Spike was vamped out. She felt her heart beating fast and it got cold. She was still in his arms and he leaned her back and she felt a pain in her neck. All the lights and candles went out and it was just her and Spike in the dark. She could see her basement and Spike holding her in his black t-shirt. He was no londer vamped out and he had a look of horror on his face and a red stain on his lips. She kicked him away and hit the ground..._

...to wake up looking up at Spike.

Spike was laying on the table again. He didn't want to go to sleep. He had drinken the two packs of blood Buffy had brought down earlier and he was hungry again. He wanted to go upstairs and get some more, but he didn't know if Buffy wanted him lurking about in the dark around her house. Why he cared about what she thought he knew. He loved her. He wanted her to love him, even though the odds were slim to none. He heard a laugh come from upstairs, who's room it came from he couldn't tell, but he soon heard footsteps come down the stairs. Whoever it was reached the bottom and stopped...then continued down the hall and to the basement door. He sat up and got ready for whoever or whatever was coming down the stairs.

Even in the dark he could tell it was Buffy. She was in a grey shirt with army print pajama pants. She walked down the stairs and faced where Spike was sitting and just stood there. Her eyes were closed and Spike got off of the table and walked over to her. She seemed to "look" at him and then at someone else. He looked over his shoulder, no one was there, it was probably someone in her dream. She laughed and then curtsied and stayed that way. Spike was puzzled. She wanted to dance?

He took Buffy's hand and sighed. He might as well do something and not just let her stay bowed for the rest of the night. She stood up straight and he led her in a waltz. She was pretty good at it too, like she knew what she was doing. He felt like a fool, but at the same time he felt like it was right. He was nervous about it at first, then he let loose and started to dip her and twirl her. He realized he was dancing with her frantically and slowed back down. He dipped her again and out of impulse, he kissed her lips. She shivered in his arms and he moved towards her neck.

The blood was pumping hard in Buffy's veins. He could hear hear her heart beating quickly. He didn't even feel or hear himself give a soft growl and then let loose the demon within's face. He kissed Buffy's neck again and this time he bit her. He couldn't help himself. Her warm blood sliding down the back of his throat was bliss, that and the fact that he had just danced with her. He would've carried on like that until she had no blood left in her, but he snapped back to reality and pulled back when she whispered: "I love you". He licked his lips, leaving a red streak across them. Her eyes started to flicker open.

"Oh bloody hell," Spike murmered as he froze up. He de-vamped and looked at Buffy with concern and fear in his eyes. Was she okay? Did he kill her?

His internal questions were quickly answered with a kick from Buffy that made Spike drop her on the floor of the basement and stumble backward. Her eyes were fully open now and she looked confused. She fixed her gaze on his lips and her eyes went wide. She sat up and put a hand to her neck. When she pulled it back there was a little bit of blood on it. Hate filled her eyes and she stood up. Spike backed away from her but she pinned him to the wall.

"What the hell happened," she demanded. He wanted to push her away and leave the house...but then what would happen?

"You were sleep walking. I didn't mean to...it was accidental..."he stammered as Buffy let go of him and stepped back from him.

She shook her head and went up the stairs. She slammed the door and he heard her lock it and put something in front of it. She stormed up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. He knew it was wrong, but he listened to see if she was saying anything. She started to cry. He could hear her sobbing and soon he heard another door open upstairs. It was Red because her footsteps were heavier than Dawn's were.

"Are you okay Buffy?"

"I...dont...my alarm..."

"Buffy, your neck..."

"I know. It didn't go off. I was dancing."

"Your dream?"

"Yes. I think I told him I loved him and that's what made him stop."

"What?"

"I was so happy. Angel was there, but I danced with Spike instead. Willow...I'm scared. I've never had this dream before...ever."

"Do you think your dream and Spike's are...linked by this demon blood?"

Buffy started to sob again and Spike stopped listening. He leaned back against the wall and slid down it. He only stopped because she said "I love you", otherwise...he'd have to add another Slayer to his list. He hit his head against the wall a couple of times and sighed. Everything he did he screwed up, but Red did have a point. He had never had that dream before. He had one where he kissed Buffy when he was with Harmony...but not one like the one he had the night before. His dreams usually consisted of killing Buffy, memories of his life and unlife, being attacked in the shoe department by shoes ( a nasty reacurring dream that came everytime he played poker with a demon that reeked of old shoes), and other things that had to do with Buffy.

He was extremely hungry now and bored so he decided to go get some blood since he had already screwed up. He reached the door and tried to open it when it felt like he hit a force field like when he had tried to go back to Buffy after he had tied her and Dru up. He got down on his knees on a lower step and looked under the door. There were two crosses on the floor. He stood up and started to put his hands on various parts of the door. There was also a cross hanging from the door. She was extremely pissed.

Buffy was scared. Not because Spike had bitten her...well partially because of that, but mostly because of her dream. Angel was there. He had been and still was the love of her life, but she had chosen Spike instead. Was there something wrong with her? Willow was holding Buffy as she cried. Why hadn't her alarm gone off? Why did he stop? Why was she having dreams about Spike?

"Willow," Buffy asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Yes?"

"What is today?"

Willow didn't answer right away. She paused. "I think today is Sunday."

Buffy lifted her head up from her friends' shoulder. "So the stuff will be here tomorrow?"

Willow nodded and Buffy rubbed her eyes.

The dream was so vivid. She had never danced a waltz or whatever it was in her whole life...yet in her dream she could do it perfectly. Maybe it was because Spike was leading her and she just fell into it. No. She was acting like she could dance and did it very well, it had nothing to do with Spike. Buffy wondered if he was listening to her and Willow. It didn't bother her as much as the fact that Angel was in her head...and...she got a headache.

Buffy sat up and moved her hand to her head. Willow, seeming to read her mind, left the room and headed towards the kitchen. When she arrived back in the room she had two Tylenol and a glass of water. Buffy swallowed the pills and chased them with the water. If only she hadn't gone patrolling and had just stayed home like planned with Willow and Dawn...

It was too late now. The damage was done. Her Slayer instinct told her that the demon's blood was linked to the dreams her and Spike had had the past day. How could she prove it? Was he lusting after her the same way she was after him? There were too many questions to be answered and no time to sleep them off. Willow looked at Buffy's alarm clock and pressed the alarm button. It read 11:47 am.

"Buffy...your clock is wrong."

Buffy looked up at Willow and saw the clock screen. She swore she had put it on pm. There was too much of a coincidence. She had set her alarm for 10 minutes later, yet through some freak accident, it was on am.

Willow set it to the right time for 30 minutes later. "I'll put a holding spell on your room. If you try to get out, you... well...won't be able to because the spell sorta confines you to the one area and...yeah."

"It's okay Will. How will you know to come wake me up though? Just in case..."

"Little alarm things will go off in my head. When powerful worlocks or witches wanted to keep someone where they were so they could do or say whatever they needed, they would use this spell. It's 100 percent non-back-firey."

At her friend's explanation, Buffy nodded. Willow gave a quick smile and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"_Hold what needs to be held that lies behind my touch," _Willow murmered in the hallway. Buffy heard her tap her door and a soft yellow glow radiated off of it, almost like her door was a giant night light.

Buffy laid awake a few minutes, but then slowly drifted off to sleep.

Spike wasn't starving, but he felt like it. He shouldn't have drinken all of the blood in one sitting, he should have saved some for later. Buffy and her damned crosses. He kicked the door and heard a soft thunk. He smiled to himself. He opened the door and kicked away the crosses that lay on the floor. He headed into the kitchen when he heard Red mutter a spell.

As he passed by the living room, he noticed Dawn watching the movie. She jumped when she saw him and panic filled her eyes.

"Buffy," she started to say.

He continued on and pulled two more blood packs from the refigerator. Dawn was right behind him. He didn't bother heading back down into the basement, he just opened one of the packs up right in front of her and started drinking. Dawn's eyes went wide and she dropped the pencil she was holding.

"You still think I'm goin' to bloody kill you when you least expect it," he asked as she backed away from him, wiping the fear from her face.

"No. I'm just..."

Spike laughed. She was trying to put on the brave act. She squinted her eyes at him and bent down quickly to pick up the pencil. He turned around and noticed there was only two more packs left.

"Damn," he muttered and headed for the door.

"Where are you going," Dawn asked, holding the pencil up like she was going to stake him.

"More blood. Almost out. I'd invite you along...but Big Sis might get a bit cranky. Now, bugger off like good little children do."

Mad, Dawn threw the pencil at Spike. The pointed end hit his chest and bounced off. He put a hand to the area.

"You really thought that was going to send me to my ashy grave? Pfft."

Willow came down the stairs. Dawn huffed and went back into the living room where she flopped down on the sofa. Spike sighed and got ready for whatever the witch was going to say.

"Where are you going?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Getting more blood. Growin' boy like me needs blood and you didn't get enough to provide me for the next few days that I have to be in that bloody basement."

"Dawn, go to your room for a moment," Willow muttered.

"But..."

"Go."

Dawn reluctantly left the living room and went up the stairs. She shut her door and kicked something. Willow turned to face Spike. He could feel the tension radiating off of her, he let confusion set into his blue eyes. She started to chew her bottom lip. He was bored now. When was she going to say something and get it over with? She stopped chewing her lip and let the words come out.

"Why?"

He wasn't as startled as he thought he would be. She let worry furrow her brow as she waited for an answer. "Why did I stop, you mean? Why did I stop drinking Buffy," he asked with a bit of annoyance.

"Yes," she said. She shifted her weight to her right leg and crossed her arms. Spike smirked. She tried to remain calm and unnerved, but his smirk got to her and she backed up a few steps.

Spike snickered. "The things you do for love are a bit off the bird, right? I could've easily killed her, but I didn't because of three lil' words. There's your answer, I'm off to get more blood. Be back soon."

He turned around and left before she could say anything else. He shut the door behind him and walked down the street towards the cemetary. Though it was cold outside, he didn't pull his duster around him, he couldn't feel the cold anyways so it didn't matter. He walked through the iron gates of the cemetary and went straight towards his crypt. The moon shone brightly as if to mock Spike in his current condition with the chip and the Xar'lok demon blood. Before he realized it, he was at the door to his crypt. Pushing open the door, he found two vampires going through his stuff and watching his tv.

"What the bloody hell," he shouted as the two vampires jumped.

"Dude, you told me this place was empty," the tv one whimpered.

"Who cares, we have it now," the other one replied.

Spike needed to kill something. He didn't have any weapons on him, but he attacked quickly. He took the one in front of the tv first. This one put up hardly any struggle and Spike tossed him across the crypt where he hit the wall and went down for the moment. The other one lunged at him with and arrow in hand. Spike grabbed the hand with the arrow in it and twisted it behind the other vampire's back. He hissed and tried to kick his way out of Spike's hold, but failed. The arrow fell, Spike lunged for it and in one fluid move, brought it straight into that vampire's heart. The tv vamp was getting up, and Spike made his way to where the now dust vamp was sitting. He found some more arrows and picked one up.

_Not going to go down as quickly as your mate you sod,_ Spike thought. He wanted to beat the hell out of something now.

The tv vamp tried to run. Spike blocked his path and when the other vamp tried to dodge around Spike, he kicked him across the crypt...again. He was faster to get up this time and Spike vamped out. The other vampire was reluctant to try and get past Spike, he hesitated and Spike let loose hell on him. Punches, kicks and slams were exchanged and Spike got fed up with the other vampire. He drove the arrow through his heart and went straight to his refrigerator. He grabbed as many packages of blood as he thought he would need and stuffed them into a bag one of the other vampires had left behind. He started to walk back to Buffy's house when he wondered if he should stay. The last thing he needed was a bunch of drifter demons and vampires raiding his crypt for a place to stay. He shrugged and put the blood back into the refrigerator. He turned off his tv and went down the ladder to where his bed was. He didn't want to sleep, but he needed to get a load of rubbish off of his mind. He laid back and fell asleep.

Buffy was sleeping soundly. No dreams plagued her mind. The alarm hadn't gone off yet, and even if it did, Buffy was sure that since her night had been dreamless so far, she wouldn't need to wake up. The soft glow from the door didn't bother her as much as it had. She could hear Willow tell Dawn to go to her room. Buffy wanted to wake up to see what was going on, but she couldn't will her body to do so. She heard the door open and shut and that was all. She rolled over. A sweat started to break out on her neck and she wanted to wake up so bad, but she just couldn't.

"No...dream...Spike...don't..." Buffy murmered.

All hell was going to break loose. Buffy could feel it, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She tossed and turned, trying desperatly to wake up, but she just couldn't. She was a prisoner inside her own body. She kicked her blanket off and started to convulse. The door started to glow a blood red. Buffy was running her hands across something, she moaned and twisted, like she was having sex with an invisible lover.

"Spike," she gasped...

It was early Monday morning and Willow needed to get some sleep for the oncoming day. The Banthar root would arrive in a few hours and she would need all of her energy to make the cure for Buffy and Spike. She laid down on the sofa and started to drift off into sleep when sirens started going off in her head. She stood up and went up the stairs. Buffy's door was still glowing a soft yellow. It didn't seem like she was trying to get out. Suddenly she heard Buffy mutter something and the glow turned blood red. Frightened, Willow tried to call the spell off. The glow started to radiate stronger, like it was drawing energy from something...or someone.

_It wasn't supposed to backfire...I did everything right,_ Willow thought as a blast of energy flew from the door and hit Willow in the chest. She fell down against the wall and fell asleep.

"Buffy," Willow whispered as she fell over onto the floor.

Spike was sleeping as peacefully as he would have if he were six feet under in a coffin. No thoughts, nothing on his mind except a peaceful sleep amidst all the chaos. HIs mind was cleared and nothing was going to change that. He smiled rolled over onto his side. He had left his clothes on in case some junkie piece of crap tried to hole up in his crypt and he needed to forcefully remove them. Buffy flashed in his mind. He stopped smiling. No thoughts. His mind was blank for a while after that. A cool breeze went over Spike and he shuddered.

_Cold doesn't effect vampires,_ He thought as he looked into Buffy's brown eyes.

There was something horribly wrong. He could sense it. He vamped out and then returned to his normal face many times while tossing and turning. He needed to fight whatever had a hold of him. He started to twitch madly and rolled over onto his stomach. He sat on his knees and unbuttoned his pants. He couldn't stop himself. She was there...underneath him...moving her hands across his back...digging in with her nails like she would drift away if she didn't get a grip on him.

"Buffy...I love you so bloody much," He whispered.

He could hear her voice in his head. "No, it's a dream Spike, don't do this."

It echoed away. She gasped his name and he tried to stop. He wanted to stop. This wasn't right...she wasn't really there...nothing was there. If nothing was there, then why could he feel her, feel her, hear her, smell her, taste her, breath in her essence? He could feel her try to go away...try to fight what held them in a dark embrace. He loved her, he really did, so he needed to do it. He rolled over and started to convulse. He fought it. He put a pillow over his head and screamed, he vamped out and roared, he did everything he could to wake up...

Then he did. He awoke to the darkness of his crypt. He was drenched with sweat and his bed was a mess. HIs pants were nearly to his ankles. He looked around. It felt as though something was watching him, looking down upon him as if he had done something wrong...as if he had disrupted a big thing...very big...big plan. He pulled his pants up and got off of the bed. He needed to help Buffy. She was out there...away from the warmth and comfort of his bed. No...he felt no warmth in the drafty crypt. He forced himself to climb the ladder. The crypt shook. For once in his unlife he was truly afraid.

"I'm coming Buffy," he whispered.

The door to his crypt started to glow blood red. Puzzled, he backed away from it. He could feel the demon in him screaming to get the hell out of the crypt, but the other way out was in the lower part, where the presence lurked. He readied himself. He vamped out and charged the door. It let out a blast of energy and sent him flying across the crypt into the wall. He groaned and stood back up.

_I'll do this until hell freezes over if I have to for you Buffy,_ he thought and charged the door again.

Buffy was a prisoner. Despite the many attempts to regain conciousness, she was still under the hold of the sleep. Though it was no longer a sleep anymore. Something had possessed her and she was connected to Spike's mind somehow. He was the invisible lover that her hands had been clawing and caressing. She had told him it was a dream, that he needed to stop doing what it was making him do. She gasped his name as the thing punished her using Spike. She felt the connection to him wither away. Did the thing kill him? She could feel him screaming and fighting...and then the connection was completely severed. She was scared now. What was going to happen to her? Was she going to die again?

The connection came back. Something hit Spike and he went reeling across his crypt. She could feel his pain and started to cry. She cried because she needed to get out of her room, out of the trance, needed...Spike. Willow had asked if Buffy thought that her and Spike's dreams were connected. Now she did. Whatever had possessed her made her get out of bed and open the door. She could feel the burning door knob and wanted to pull her hand back, but the thing wouldn't let her. She twisted the knob off and flung the door open. Willow was laying on the floor. The thing had harmed one of her friends...she now was obligated to free herself from the thing's grip. She went downstairs and opened a drawer on the desk. Inside was a stake. Buffy was afraid of what was going to happen. Her connection to Spike severed again and she left her house.

Fighting with all her might she tried to escape, but she just couldn't. Something bad was going to happen. She walked into the cemetary and her connection came back. He was trying again. She could hear his thoughts.

"_I'll do this until hell freezes over if I have to for you, Buffy."_

He was trying to save her. This time the tears came because she knew what he felt for her. The connection was like they were one being and she now knew how much he loved her. She saw the door to his crypt.

_Spike, I love you too. Now run, run as far away as you can. Don't try to save me anymore, you'll just get yourself hurt,_ Buffy thought. She felt Spike stop and think over her words.

_The thing Buffy, it's in the lower part of the crypt, and I'm...bloody hell...I'm bloody afraid of it,_ Spike replied.

_Run Spike, _ was all Buffy could get out before she kicked open the door and the connection severed.

Spike was bruised, cut and burned from charging the door. He heard Buffy speak to him in his head again. He de-vamped. She told him to run. She told him she loved him and he could feel that she truly meant it. He had told her he was afraid of the thing, and she told him to run. He didn't want to. Whatever was coming his way, he'd rather fight it to the death to save Buffy. She still had a life. She had Dawn and all of her friends to care about, he had lost that decades ago.

Buffy kicked down the door. She held a stake in her hand. This was why she was telling him to run. Her eyes were closed, but she moved as if they were open. She kicked and he blocked. She punched, he took a few blows and then landed some of his own. He didn't want to hurt her, but he had to to save her. Or did he? He blocked a few more of her blows in exchange for getting a few in of his own. What if he stopped fighting, would that save her? He let her land her blows and he could feel his bones break. The pain was excrutiating, but he let her. He was about to let her kick again, but he blocked it out of instinct.

_Not this way, I'll die fighting, but not this way,_ he thought. He let his demon show again and let Buffy have it.

No, not Buffy, the Slayer. Buffy wasn't the thing fighting him right now, she was somewhere else, trying to escape. He fought back and he tried to pull her arm around her back to pull the stake out of it. When he did, she ran backwards and he hit the pillar in his crypt. The stake punctured his skin and he felt the pain as it went through his heart. His eyes went wide and the Slayer turned around. He could see Buffy in the Slayer's eyes. She started to cry. He leaned forward and kissed her as he burst into a cloud of dust.

It was all over now...

Buffy coughed as Spike's ashes went up her nose and into her open mouth. She cried. The draft in the crypt swirled his ashes around and she fell backwards onto the cold concrete. He was dead. She killed him. The _thing_ killed him. She felt normal now. The sun was starting to fill the cemetary. It looked like a beautiful, bright, sunny day. It wouldn't feel like it. She laid on the floor of the crypt for two hours, staring at the ceiling.

He was gone. The thing had driven a stake through his heart. He was now scattered ashes on the floor. She didn't want to move or breathe for fear that she'd scatter him more and then she'd lose him forever. She couldn't help it. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. She cried. She cried until the sun shone through the door of Spike's crypt. It was probably noon. She wanted him back. She closed her eyes.

_He didn't really die. The stake had missed his heart completely. He rolled on the pillar to the other side. She heard him hiss as he pulled the stake out and it clattered to the floor. _ _He stepped out from behind the pillar and Buffy stopped crying. She stood up and ran into his arms. He held her and she hugged him and wouldn't let go. He was the only one who had ever made her happy after Riley left. He was there for her when Willow resurrected her after she died to save Dawn. He was there for her...and she didn't even notice. He kissed her on the forehead and then on the lips. She could feel a burning sensation on her lips. She could feel him standing there, but conciously she knew he was dead._

Buffy woke up. She was standing by the pillar. She licked her lips. They were chapped. Was he really dead? Was he still there in spirit? Why did she feel him, why did she smell him, why did she dream he was there? Too many questions and no answers. She looked at the ashes on the floor. She wanted to scoop them up and take them with her, but she couldn't...could she? She left the crypt and went back to her house.

Willow was sitting in the kitchen with a large bowl infront of her. There was a smell of cinnamon in the air. Willow turned her attention away from the bowl and to Buffy. Buffy couldn't help it, she cried. Willow went over to her and sat her down on the sofa. Buffy leaned over and rested her head on Willow's shoulder.

"I killed him," she gasped and pulled back to look into Willow's eyes.

"It wasn't you, it was the thing in the blood."

"No it wasn't. You asked me if I thought that my dreams and Spike's dreams were connected. I think they are...were. When I was trapped...in my own body...and Spike in his, I had a connection to him. I made him fight and he did. He fought and was coming to save me...but he never made it. The thing used me to go to his crypt and we fought and I killed...him."

Dawn came down the stairs. She wasn't ready to go to school. She wasn't even at school. She looked at Buffy and Willow and froze. There was something wrong with Dawn, no matter how much she hated school sometimes, she would still dress for school or at least go to school.

"Dawn, what's wrong," Buffy asked.

"There was something in my room last night. I tried to scream for you guys, but no one came and I sat on my bed and stayed up all night because I was afraid it was going to...eat me."

Buffy stood up and went over to her sister. She hugged her tightly. Dawn pulled out of the hug and looked up at Buffy. "What's wrong with you?"

Buffy told Dawn about being trapped in her room and killing Spike. Dawn sat down on the sofa and stared at the tv. Her expression was blank. Here eyes were empty. Willow scooted over next to Dawn and hugged her.

"The last thing I did to him was throw a pencil at him. I thought he was lurking around getting ready to drink my blood. He laughed at me. I guess I'd rather have him kill me than the thing that was in my room," Dawn said as she looked down at her feet.

An awkward silence filled the house. It was as if God had muted the sound on Buffy's life. Willows stood up and went into the kitchen. She took a cup from the shelf and set it on the counter. She scooped some of the stuff that was in the bowl out and placed it in the cup. She poured some hot water on it and whispered the incantation. Buffy was confused. Didn't Willow say that it would take an extra day to make the cure?

"I thought it would be more complicated than this, but it wasn't, so I finished it early."

She handed Buffy the cup. "Maybe it will reverse..." she didn't finish her sentence.

Buffy drank some of the cinnamon scented cure. It tasted like licorice. She drank it all and set the cup down on the counter. She got queasy. She ran into the bathroom and threw up. She could feel the bad thing leave her and she felt like she could actually sleep without worrying about sleep walking. She wished Spike was there to drink the cure as well. Then maybe things could go back to the way they were before the Xar'lok demon incident. She waited to hear an urgent pounding on the front door. Waited to hear Willow open it and Dawn squeel because Spike was back.

There was no urgent knock, no "bloody hell", no squeel of delight, nothing. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands and face. She hissed when the cold water ran over her lips. They were still charred from her invisible kiss. The kiss...

"Willow, I think he may still be undead," Buffy shouted.

Willow and Dawn ran into the bathroom. "I fell asleep in his crypt, that's why I didn't come back earlier. I had a dream. He stepped out from behind the pillar in his crypt and held me. I...kissed him, and his lips burned mine, thus the charred lips. I think that his spirit or being or whatever might still be in the crypt."

Willow smiled big. "I have a plan."

Buffy stood inside of Spike's crypt with Willow and Dawn behind her. She was sitting on the cold concrete floor meditating. Part of Willow's plan was to try and reconnect with Spike. The other part was to do a spell that would use the connection to pull him back from Hell or where ever he was. Buffy concentrated hard. She wanted him back. It was hard to keep her mind clear. The sun had set long ago. She had been meditating for about an hour. Dawn was getting restless, Buffy could feel the tension pouring off of her. Willow was stressed as well. This was going to have to be done right the first time, or it wouldn't be able to be done at all, at least for the next few years. Buffy considered herself lucky. The planets or stars were all aligned so the spell would go by smoothly...hopefully.

She felt immense pain and heat all of a sudden. She tried to move but she was paralyzed. It felt like her skin was melting off. There was a scream. There were millions of screams and cries and pleas. The loudest one was his. As soon as she heard it, she knew it was him. She would have smiled if she weren't in so much pain. She called out to him.

_Spike, can you hear me? _

There was no reply. Just endless screaming. He was crying too. She wanted to save him, but she needed to get the connection back.

_Spike! I can hear you. Pay attention, just focus on my voice, we're trying to save you._

She heard whimpering. A raspy voice choked out "yes".

_Do you feel the connection like before, Spike?_

"Yes. Save me Buffy...it hurts..."

Willow had told Buffy that when the connection was in place, to do something, anything. So she screamed. She screamed as loud as she had when the Gentlemen were in town. She screamed like she was in Spike's place and she was being tortured in Hell. She screamed just because she could. Willow snapped into action. Buffy could hear her chant in latin, heard her tell Dawn to stand back.

_Here goes everything._

A bright light flashed through the crypt. The place seemed to glow with a mystical energy, it probably was. She couldn't open her eyes yet. She didn't feel the pain or heat of Hell anymore. She could move now. She stood up and opened her eyes. There he was. Naked, yes, but he was there and he could have come back covered in dirt or fully clothed and Buffy would still be happy. She turned back to Willow who had her hand over Dawn's eyes.

"Is that what it looks like," Dawn asked and Willow shushed her.

Buffy cried. She was so happy. So damn happy. She opened her arms and wrapped them around him. He wrapped his around her. If she could pick one moment to freeze in time out of the life she had been living since Willow resurrected her, it would be this one. The crypt stopped glowing and Willow gasped. Buffy had closed her eyes again. She opened them up to be looking face to face with the pillar that she had staked Spike on.

"We did it right though! I did everything right...the chant, the timing, everything was right...why did it go wrong..." Willow stammered as she ran up behind Buffy.

Buffy was dumbfounded. Everything that had been good was taken away from her for the millionth time. She could hear her mind snapping. The feelings she had felt vanished into thin air. Buffy was empty again. Hollow. Cold. She turned around and walked past her friend and sister. They followed close behind, asking if she was okay. She didn't say anything. She walked straight home, opened the door, went up the stairs, and into the bathroom. She shut and locked the door behind her. Dawn and Willow were asking each other questions. Buffy undressed and turned the water on in the shower. She didn't bother to grab a towel. She just wanted to wash away everything. Wash away everything until there was no more Buffy. Until all that was left was a pair of earrings in the bottom of the bathtub.

She stepped into the stream of warm water. She let her eyeliner and mascara run down her face. She let the water wash away her scent. She stood underneath the showerhead silently crying. He had been there...then he had been gone. In the blink of an eye, he faded back into Hell. She heard something clatter outside the shower curtain. Her Slayer sense tensed up her muscles. Whoever, whatever it was would be in for a hell of a fight. She was a pissed off woman with super strength and runny makeup. Hoping it was just her imagination, she rinsed the rest of the shampoo out of her hair and reached out beyond the shower curtain for her towel.

A hand grabbed her wrist. She immediately attempted to pull her hand back to be able to fight off her attacker more easily. It wouldn't be the first time she fought someone off in the bathroom and from the looks of it, wouldn't be her last. As her wrist shot back behind the shower curtain, the shower curtain was ripped back to reveal the bathroom. She could see her assailant clearly now.

It was Spike. A naked-as-the-day-he-was-born Spike.

Her heart stopped and butterflies took nest inside of her stomach. Out of impulse she pounced on him and locked her lips with his. He went right into it, no hesitation or surprise. She pulled back to breathe.

"The spell didn't work...why are you here," she asked.

"You can't always have instant gratification, luv. Hell didn't want to let me out of it's bloody grasp," he replied, letting his hands run over every inch of Buffy's body.

"I love you," she moaned and moved back into the kiss.

Spike rolled her over onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor and made love to her. She couldn't supress her moans of pleasure and happiness. Her towel was a crumpled mass on the floor and her hair was a partially tangled mess. He rolled off of her and stood up, she did the same. He wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her close. He was still hard, and he seemed to become harder when his lips interlocked with hers for a second time.

The bathroom door opened and Dawn let out a shreik of surprise. Willow came running down the hallway to see what was wrong. Buffy paid no mind to them, she wanted to shut and lock the door, but his lips were mesmerizing and she didn't want Dawn to see any of his parts. There was a gasp and the door slammed shut. Buffy could hear their voices outside of the door, but couldn't make out any of the words being exchanged.

"Dawn's getting the talk again," Spike whispered.

That made Buffy laugh. They made love on the bathroom floor again and when Spike told her that Dawn and Willow had left the house, they ran down the hallway to Buffy's room and made love again.

The sun shone brightly through the window. The curtains had been knocked off during another bout of furious love making. Trying not to wake Buffy, Spike hid his smoking self in the shadows and put the curtains back on the window. She was still sleeping. She didn't want to, but he insisted that she sleep and rest up. There was still the tension of sleep walking...but nothing happened that they didn't do while they were awake. He didn't have any clothes on when he returned from Hell. He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened her bedroom door. The curtains on the window at the end of the hall blocked the sun's rays and he stepped out into the hallway.

The television was on downstairs and he heard Dawn snickering. He smelled the air. Willow was downstairs as well. He sighed. He didn't want Dawn to get all nervous around him, but it would be inevitable. She had seen what made Buffy crazy...twice. He went down the stairs and held the towel in place to make sure it wouldn't tally up to three times. Willow was sitting on the sofa next to Dawn. They were watching a movie with Seth Green in it. He looked a little bit like the description of Oz he had heard of.

"Spike! The sun...what are you doing here...I mean, ummm...awake," Willow stammered.

"Indirect sunlight. No burn. I need you to go back to my crypt and get my clothes. They're in the bottom part in a box somewhere," Spike replied.

Dawn was transfixed on the towel around his waist. Her eyes were wide. He looked down to make sure it wasn't open. It wasn't. He used his free hand to take Willow by the arm and pull her into the kitchen.

"Lil' bit is okay...right," he asked. Dawn blushed at hearing her nickname and turned her head back to the movie.

"Just startled...I think. Anyways, just stay upstairs until I come back, okay?"

Spike nodded. Willow turned around and went out the front door. He started to back up the stairs and noticed Dawn staring at him again. He smiled and walked over to her. She tried to reavert her stare on the television, bt her eyes lingered on him. He looked down on her as she figeted with her shirt.

"Do you...you know...wanna sit...down," she murmered.

He vamped out and caused her to jump up and stiffen.

"I could still kill you in a heartbeat."

She opened her mouth to tell him off, but he was already going back up the stairs by the time "no" escaped her lips.

He re entered Buffy's room. She was still sleeping soundly underneath the blanket that was twisted wildly around her figure. It made him want to wake her and ravish her again, but she needed the rest. The past few days had been tough on everyone and now she needed the down time. He contained his sexual urges and laid back down beside her. A few minutes passed with the silence between them and then she ran a hand across his bare chest. He turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were closed but he knew she was awake.

"Where do you think we'll go from here, Spike," she asked in a half whisper.

"Anywhere you want, pet," he whispered and she smiled.

Focusing on her heart beat, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

_Him and Buffy were on the beach at sunset. The water rolled upon the shore. She was wearing a white wedding dress and he was wearing a black tuxedo. She was standing in the water up to her knees, the bottom half of her dress floated on top of the water a bit. He went out to her and the sun set fully. Everything was in total darkness. The moon shone bright in the star drenched sky. She looked radiant as the moonlight reflected off of her skin._

_"I love you Spike, until death do us part,"_

_"Not even death could part us Buffy."_

Willow walked up the stairs with the box of clothes Spike had asked for. He probably only needed a shirt and pants, but Willow got the feeling he would be in the house longer than one more night. She put her ear to the door and listened for any signs of their love making. No moans or sighs or sweet nothings being whispered to one another. Willow opened the door and set the box down on the floor. Spike laid by Buffy in the bed. He had a smile as wide as humanly possible on his face, as did Buffy.

He was going to be here with them for a loooooooong time.


End file.
